Shop smart this Black Friday: How to spot a scam before you pay
Here are four Black Friday scams to watch out for and six habits to help keep your money safe.
Black Friday sales are designed to entice shoppers into acting quickly, but so are scams. As part of International Fraud Awareness Week, the Retail Credit Services (RCS) is urging South Africans to pause and verify any offers before clicking, paying or sharing personal information. Audrey Roberts, Customer Operations Executive at RCS, explains that the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) reported South Africans lost R2.4 billion to digital banking crime in 2025, with the majority resulting from social engineering rather than bank system attacks.
Two common tactics used by scammers are creating a sense of urgency through fake deals or gaining trust with fake trust. AI is now making these scams harder to detect, as criminals use it to craft personalized and convincing messages, eliminating previous giveaways such as spelling mistakes. To stay safe, Roberts advises checking the full web address and never sharing PINs, passwords, or OTPs.
Be wary of sellers who insist on instant bank transfers, and use mobile data instead of public Wi-Fi when shopping online. Keep your devices locked and updated, use strong unique passwords, enable two-step verification, and only download apps from official stores. If you suspect a scam, stop all contact, gather evidence, and report the crime immediately to your bank, credit provider, police, and the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
